With something drifting and something shifting, the earth still held the sky.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Ho Hum

'Halla Bol' is so tepid. The movie, I think, is so disproportionately theatrical in places that it's funny. And while people may go to town about Devgan (who looks too wizened to be the arrogant filmstar he plays in the first-half) and Pankaj Kapur, I personally think Vidya Balan is fab-u-lous.

Okay, she's not there in most of the film, and in most of the time that she is there, she's crying - out of happiness when her boyfriend is recognized by an admiring crowd for the first time, when she delivers a baby, when she catches her husband cheating on her, when her family is threatened by a mob, etc. etc. But man...she's got range. She has that quiet grace and dignity that is so rare to see, and therefore, such a treat.

What I found most interesting about the film is the precept that you must speak up, no matter what...because you never know who might be listening.

Anyway, on to more interesting things....I had a great lunch yesterday. A bowl of very spicy daal and sprouts cooked together and a packet of Lays - the Classic Salted flavour. I would dip a chip in the daal and eat it up. It was so tasty! I love Lays - especially Classic Salted, Spanish Tomato, and Sweet Caribbean (is that how it's spelt?) Chilli.

It's Saturday morning, 11:30, and I am trying to recap fragments of a Friday that seems so long ago. Wow! I am constantly amazed at my dreariness. But I also wonder why we tend to capture Life as a series of incidents. Let me see if I can build a parallel universe for myself.

Okay, now I am just typing compulsively because I see no point of stopping. What else can I write about? I am Oriya, and by virtue of belonging to this community, I am expected to resemble an Oriya sweet - spherical and no sharp edges. In fact, a few months ago, when I was around 6 kgs heavier than what I am now, my mother poked me rudely and said, "You have become so bony." She was feeling my ankle. Sigh!

Anyway, it's my aim to lose 8 kgs this year and I will absolutely do it. I just have to be careful about what I eat. The thing is that I have cut out meat from my diet. Now, I am trying to not eat eggs, and someday I want to cut out dairy products. In fact, I believe there's nothing beneficial to be had from milk. But I am a creature of habit and becoming a vegan will take time.Since I am excluding more and more food groups from my diet, I think I am mentally trying to compensate by eating whatever is available. This way, I think I am consuming more sugary and oily foods. So, the fat content in my diet is high. I should just focus on boiled and steamed foods for a while and get more exercise than I do at present and I should be fine.

A colleague, the other day, mentioned that I am too self-absorbed. I was so surprised. Not because it is untrue, but because I didn't think anyone else would notice. What can I say? I truly find myself fascinating. I could talk with myself for hours. I mean, if it weren't for my volatile temparament, I would have loved to move in with myself and plan holidays together. I'm self absorbed, sure, but can you blame me? I'm such a treat to be around. He he!

But would love to meet Salman Rushdie. And also go for the Filmfare awards.

I am now thinking of all those really adorable, golu babies in Agra who were being carried around the Taj Mahal in fleece jackets. They looked like grains of colored, puffed rice. So cute! Most of them smiled and gurgled at me too, and I would hold them while their Mummies and Dadddies would go and get clicked against a marble, latticed window. I love babies. More than I love myself. And THAT is saying something.